Contrary to popular belief, Cinco de Mayo doesn’t commemorate Mexico’s Independence Day.
May 5 marks the Mexican army’s victory over France at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War in 1862. Mexico’s Independence Day is celebrated on September 16.
A 2018 survey by NationalToday.com showed only 10% of Americans knew the true reason behind the holiday, yet it has turned into a day where people can get cheap margaritas and wear sombreros.
“Most people drinking in the bars have no idea that it s celebrating the strength in the power and the resilience of Mexican people to overcome invaders who are trying to take their land,” said Alexandro Gradilla, associate professor of Chicana and Chicano Studies at California State University, Fullerton.
Gubidxa Guerrero Luis, Portrait of Juan Sandoval, Photograph on Paper, 29¾” x 19¾”. Mexic-Arte Museum Permanent Collection 2020.2.201.1. Gift of Juan Antonio Sandoval Jr. Courtesy the Mexic-Arte Museum
For the majority of prominent art collectors, their ability to buy art can be traced back to an abundance of personal or familial wealth. For Mexican and Latinx art collector Juan Sandoval, it can be traced back to the simple decision to not own a car.
“He always said the money he might have spent buying an automobile, maintaining it and buying gasoline, he had that amount of money available to purchase art,” says Claudia Rivers, head of Special Collections at UT El Paso Libraries and a close friend of Sandoval’s.
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This illustration from the California Librarian, the January 1973 special issue on Chicano Library Service, is by Jorge Enciso s Design Motifs of Ancient Mexico, Dover Publications, 1953.
Daisy Gomez-Fuentes listened in awe to an audio-visual recording of Chicano activist Rudy Acuña speaking to a group of Cal State Fullerton students in May 1974. The lecture gave her insights into the Chicano Movement of the 1960s and ’70s.
“He spoke about the cultural conflicts that Chicanx students faced in academia,” said Gomez-Fuentes, a Chicana and Chicano studies major and daughter of Mexican immigrants.
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She describes herself as a contemporary Xicana designer, where she combines practices from the Chicano Movement of the ’60s with present day applications to create and share her work.
Her work consists of large scale illustrations made up of copy paper and wheat paste. She received a B.A. in art/design studies and a minor in Chicano Studies from San Jose State University in 2017. She earned her master of fine arts in design at UC Davis in 2019.
Arriaga has been featured in more than 20 exhibitions, has hosted workshops and art pop-ups, and was on the cover of the Santa Barbara Independent in September. Her website is adrianaarriaga.com.
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